The Dominion. THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1918. THE TECHNICAL SCHOOL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 197, 9 May 1918, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1918. THE TECHNICAL SCHOOL

It is now some years since the Government committed itself more or less definitely to allotting part of the Mount Cook reserve as a site for the local Technical School. The reserve—an area of about 14 acres vested in tho Justice Department and used partly by that Department and partly by the Dofence Department— may ultimately provide space for tho projected National Museum, Library and Art Gallery, as well as for the Technical School, but the latter institution obviously has much more urgent claims to attention. It is so much the more satisfactory that when a deputation interviewed tho Hon. T. M. Wilford (Minister of Justice) yesterday he held out a hope that the long-deferred question of the Technical School sito may be satisfactorily settled in the very near future.. The promise made by tho .Minister is, howover, saddlocl with ■ a condition which it may not bo possible to accept. ' Possibly there may bo no objection to the exchange ho proposes—an exchango as between tho Education and Justice Departments of part of tho Mount Cook site for the Burnbam Industrial School, or the Tβ Oranga Home, in Canterbury. But the Minister's implied'contention that the Mount Cook reserve is in tho hands of tho Justice Department to bo disposed of as that Department thinks fit is not,' in our opinion, one that could be sustained. This land was vested in the Justice Department under a policy which, is now obsolete—a policy of erecting And maintaining large gaols inside city boundaries. It is public land, and undoubtedly its disposal must be governed by considerations of public interest, and not merely or mainly with an eyo to the interests of the Justice Department. It may be advisable in the public interest that one or other of the institutions mentioned by Mit. Wilford should bo transferred to the Justice Department, but tho case for setting aside a portion of the Mount Cook reserve as a- Technical I School site is on its merits well cb- | tablished, arid thft desired arrangement should not at this stago be j made subject to any conditions of j the nature suggested. I At tho same time it is only fair [to add that the Minister,seems to j have met yesterday's deputation in a distinctly helpful spirit, and anything he can do to hasten a settlotnonfc of the site question will enj title him to gratitude. The olrtiirI man of the Technical Education Board (Mk. Frost) apparently considers that it will be impossiblo to do more in the immediate future (even if the site question is settled forthwith) than such preliminary work as tho preparation of plans'. This is perhaps the actual position, but tho possibilities of embarking on a more enterprising policy should at least be investigated, for it is obvious that while existing conditions of technical instruction in this city are tolerated we are neglecting one of the most important aspects of preparation for aftor-war conditions. It is agreed by all concerned that the existing state of affairs makes the efficient organisation of our Technical School—which in its natural and proper place would ho perhaps tho most important of our educational institutions—absolutely impossible. From what Mr. Wij,kokd said yesterday, it appears that the site at Mount Cook can be made available a year hence. Little raoro remains than to provide the not very large sum of money needed to cover the cost of building operations. It was estimated some time ago that a building which would adequately meet all requirements for several years to como could be erected for .-620,000. This estimate may have to be revised in view of war conditions, but it does not necessarily follow that hope of a comparatively early start on building operations must bo abandoned. At least before- a decision is reached on this point full account should be taken of the fact that the present arrangement under which technical classes are scattered about in premises described by the chairman of the Technical Education Board as "overcrowded, obsolete, dangerous, and insanitary," is as costly as it is'inefficient. Tho Director of the Technical Collego (Mr. u Trobe) observes in his annual report that tho present accommodation

is overtaxed and entirely unsuitable and further that: "Temporary accommodation is difficult to find in Wellington at tho present time, and it, would probably cost little more per annum to provide satisfactory permanent buildings tban our present buildings and rented rooms are now worth in the market." On all grounds it would seem that tho possibility of making an early start upon the erection of suitable buildings demands careful and thorough investigation. All public bodies and public-spir-ited citizens generally should activeiy t interest themselves to the end of having the site question at least Bottled forthwith;. Those who have followed the trend of the times do not need to be told that efficiently organised and equipped technical schools are an indispensable adjunct to our national and civic life, and that such institutions are invested with a value vastly exceeding the outlay involved in their establishment. Under modern standards a well-organised technical school is not a mere home of vocational training; it is an institution in which instruction making for general culture is judiciously blended with instruction in. or bearing on, the useful and productive arts of life. At present the capital of tho Dominion is worse off in this department of education than many up-to-date villages, but on sufh a site as offers at Mount Cook a Technical College in all respects worthy of the city might be erected. The site is central to the city as its business and residential areas have developed, and the space of between four and five acres mentioned yesterday would afford room not only for buildings , but for iairly extensive playing areas. The people and public bodies of Wellington will be strangely blind to. their own interests ana thoso of the rising generation if they do not make it their business to see that the excellent possibilities which the site offers are as speedily as possible realised.